Miroslav Klose has admitted his elation at breaking Ronaldo’s all-time goalscoring record at the World Cup finals would be “significantly dampened” if Germany fail to lift the trophy against Argentina on Sunday.

The veteran forward registered his 16th goal in 23 appearances at the tournament when scoring Germany’s second against Brazil on Tuesday, finishing at the second attempt beyond Júlio César to prompt a frenzied spell which yielded four goals in seven minutes. Klose had already become the first man to play in four World Cup semi-finals and, having turned 36 last month, has now eclipsed Ronaldo, Gerd Müller, Just Fontaine and Pelé to establish himself as the competition proper’s leading scorer.

“It’s a hugely emotional thing for me but people who know me will realise that my focus is already completely on Argentina, 100%,” said Klose, a member of the German team who succumbed to Brazil in the 2002 final in Yokohama. “Yes, I have overtaken Ronaldo as the best goalscorer but that is something to take on board another day. If we lose the final, my joy as the top scorer will be significantly dampened.

“We are totally focused on the final. I know how bad it feels to lose a final but we are full of confidence that we can go on to win on Sunday.” Asked if his 137th cap was likely to be his last appearance for Die Mannschaft, the Poland-born striker joked: “I don’t know if I will retire after the game. Unfortunately I still feel fineand I think I can move my ‘cadaver’ for a little while yet.”

Klose knew only two words of German when his family moved to Kusel in 1986 via France and he took his time before making his mark as a professional. He was still in the Hamburg reserve team at 20 and spent five relatively nondescript years with Kaiserslautern before to a £3.7m move to Werder Bremen. He has since enjoyed spells at Bayern Munich and, currently, with Lazio, with his 16-year club career having yielded two Bundesliga titles, a German Cup and the Coppa Italia.

His scoring record for his country is impressive, with 71 goals since he made his debut in 2001. Germany have never lost a game in which he has scored and only their former captain Lothar Matthäus has represented the team more often at the World Cup finals. Klose is the third player to score at four tournaments, along with Pelé and West Germany’s Uwe Seeler, who both scored in 1958, 1962, 1966 and 1970. “We enjoyed the win against Brazil this week but we ticked it off after 24 hours,” he added. “In the next game we have again to play to the best of our abilities if we are to win. It feels so awful to lose a final, so this time we have to make sure it’s ours.”

There is a recognition within Joachim Löw’s squad that they cannot be complacent, buoyed as they are by the 7-1 demolition inflicted on the hosts, if they are to overcome an awkward and rugged Argentina team at the Maracanã. The assistant manager, Hansi Flick, suggested they had “a plan”, having witnessed how Holland nullified the threat posed by Lionel Messi in Wednesday’s semi-final in São Paulo, and their focus is fixed firmly on securing the country’s fourth World Cup success.

“We want that title so badly,” said the full-back Benedikt Höwedes. “If we lose, nobody will talk about our game against Brazil any more. Many people are slapping us on the back and giving us compliments and, while we love that, we can’t make the mistake that it’s already over. Far from it. We enjoyed a good match against Brazil but it won’t be easy against Argentina. They will fight with all their power against us.

“Messi is a fantastic player, one of the best in the world, but so was [Cristiano] Ronaldo. We’ve got to work as a collective against him because we’re not going to be able to beat him one on one. When we play together tightly, even a great player like Messi will have a hard time. If we can defend decently as a team, we’ll contain him.”